Cyborg

Does the garage have an engine hoist? After a ride that far, I’d need assistance getting off the bike. I was thinking more along the lines of..... ride 10 minutes from my house to the ferry, another 5 minutes when the ferry arrives at the island.... followed by intermittent rides to drag supplies back to the cabin. The 50 km speed limit on the island and a good steering damper would keep wobbles down to a minimum. anyway... thanks for the invite, it sounds like fun.

They certainly look like they are done right. Can’t say there is a car there that appeals to me. I like the look of Steibs, but they would probably look a bit odd on a V11 Sport. Not exactly cheap either. Wonder what those earls type front ends cost? Maybe I should just look for an old Dnepr..... although a short ride on one gave me nightmares. Talk about agricultural!

Again... I don’t really disagree.... well maybe a little, but logic is unlikely to deter me. After all, I’m the guy who put a Vincent engine in a Honda GL500 Interstate. In other words, I have no shame, so a V11 powered hack isn’t beyond the realm of possibility. Besides..... as you so aptly put it, think of all the beer you could haul.

Yes.... agreed, but I have the V11 already and it has sufficient grunt to haul a car around. Although I have a lathe, mill, MIG and TIg.... as much as it pains me to buy stuff, I would cough up the funds to buy the mounting hardware, just to avoid any drama and save time. There are a couple of knowledgeable (nutters)locals to help set it up. Assuming I actually get around to doing anything about it.... most of the bikes use would be on a small island where the posed speed limit is 50kmh. Not a glamorous ending for a V11, but at least I wouldn’t have to worry about picking it up... just focus on avoiding hedges.

Too fancy for me... I would prefer something that looks a little more agricultural or maybe one that wouldn’t look out of place in a Mad Max movie. The mounting hardware is available.....

By the way..... the idle was higher after installing the pump. Cable has slack and throttle bodies seem to be returning. Doesn’t make sense unless the old pump was barely pushing enough fuel to lift the pressure relief valve. Not sure about the front end on that Rosso Mandello. I just want a sidehack and don’t even want to mess with the stock front end if possible.

So would installing a sidecar be considered sacrilegious?

Thanks for the replies. I ordered the one from Harper’s. Priced in the middle and they claim it’s quiet. Now if I could find a way to remove a 100 lbs off the bike and lower the COG. The V11 seems to have gained weight over the last year.

Been a while since I’ve stopped in and also been a while since I started the V11. Yesterday, it started without too much fuss after sitting for a year. Once the stale gas worked its way through and the fresh stuff started reaching the injectors, it started to settle down. However... smoke/vapour started curling up from under the tank. Long story short, it looks as though the fuel pump has s#@* the bed. Fuel was gushing out from between the plastic end of the pump and the metal housing, so the orings inside there are done. So the reason for the post.... any suggestions for a replacement pump? OEM or aftermarket? Where to buy one? Any tips, suggestions, what to watch out for etc. would be much appreciated.

I used to work as a M/C tech for a living .... between that and the mountain of projects lined up in my garage makes me want to avoid this for a while, so don't hold your breath docc... I will happy to take photos and post the results when I get to it though. As for cleaning and lubing the linkage, I wholeheartedly agree it should be done.... however, I'll wager you a cheeseburger or two that the linkage is fine. I live in Canada"s answer to California aka God's Country.....I'm too much of a pussy to ride in the rain.... and too lazy to wash the damn thing, so no corrosion anywhere. It does get clean oil and ethanol free fuel though.

Thanks for the replies gentlemen. I will check the pivot bolt, but pretty sure I is ok. Even the slightest movement of the shifter and it will return to centre, so nothing is hanging up. I'll go through the "Shift Improvement", but hope I can delay that until the dead of winter. It still strikes me as odd that the spring pressure is so different between the up and down movement of the shift lever. That spring in the photo looks like it would provide equal pressure either way. If the spring was broken... seems to me it would be "no pressure" If the spring was dislodged somehow, you'd think it would affect spring pressure for both up and down movement Y/N? Is the pressure supposed to be more or less equal either way?

So... downshifting if traffic, the shift lever decided to stay down and I thought I was going to have to limp home in 2nd (or maybe it was 3rd). When it stuck in the down position, it didn't want to move when I pulled up with my foot. Anyway after a short time the lever returned to its normal position and currently all is well. It has always behaved... any extra neutrals were born from lazy shifting. The bike only has 20,000 km. With the bike stationary, if I push down on the lever by hand, the return spring feels quite strong and no indication of a problem. When I lift up on the lever, the spring pressure is only about half as much. Not sure if that is some sort of sign? Given the lever had stuck in the down position and the spring (while pushing down) seems strong, I'm thinking its something else. External linkage looks fine, moves freely and no signs of hanging up anywhere. I see there are lots of threads on the subject, but just wanted to see if anyone wanted to hazard a guess as to what it might be.

Do these tanks ever develop cracks around that area? I haven't pulled the tank off yet and don't think its anything other than the tap o-ring, but thought I would ask.

Thanks. The parts manual I have, doesn't show it and after looking through it, I'm assuming its for the wrong year. It only shows the tank with the internal pump and I have an external one. Guess I better find the correct manual.